Safety swinging scaffold



Patented Sept. 9, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

ANISE F. FRAME, OF SOUTH CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO WILLIAM NEELEY, OF SOUTH CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA. i

SAFETY swlnerne scarrorn.

Application filed July 3, 1922?. Serial No. 572,645.

T all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that ANIsn F. FRAME, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at South Charleston. in the county of Kanawha and State of West Virginia, has.

invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety Swinging Scaifolds, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates generally to scaffold supports and particularly to a construction in which provision is made, not only for supporting the platform of the scaffold, but also for elevating and lowering the same.

()ne of the particular features of the invention resides in a construction which permits of the operation of the elevating and lowering mechanism either by manual or automatic means, which later, specifically, may consist of a small electric motor.

A further feature resides in a construction in which the ratio of the gears of the operating mechanism is such that the scaffold, even under excessive load due to the weight of the material and the workmen on the platform, may easily be elevated when 00- casion requires.

A further feature resides in a construction which permits the use of greater space on the platform for workmen and materials, by the arrangement of the operating mechanism entirely beneath said platform,

Further features reside in the novel and specific construction and arrangement of parts which results in maximum efficiency of operation of the apparatus.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the wall of a building and showing the relation of my scaffold thereto Figure 2 is a top plan view of one of the platform supporting and elevating and lowering frames; I

Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view on the line 33 of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is'a longitudinal vertical section on the line 44 of Figure 1,

Figure 5 is a transverse vertical section on the line 55 of Figure 2, and,

Figure 6 is a similar sectional view on the line 66 of Figure 2.

Referring more specifically to the drawings by numerals of reference, 2 indicates a building'wall of conventional type, the front vertical face is shown at 3, and 4, the

platform of a scaffold with which a, Su

porting mechanism is associated.

The platform supporting, and elevating if and lowering mechanisms of which there are of course two, one for each end of the platform, are shown more clearly in Figures 2 and 3, and as the construction of one is identical with the other, I one will sufiice.

Horizontally arranged beneath the plata description of form which it supports, and perpendicular,

to the plane of the wall face 3, and at each end of said platform, is a rectangular oblong frame 6, embodying lateral beams or bars 8 held in spaced parallel relation thru a plu rahty of transverse metal bars 9, the ends of which areturned at right angles from the plane of the body as at 10 and suitably and rigidly secured to the inner faces of the parallel beams 8'. The transverse bars the frame 6, said bars constituting, in addil tion to their function of supporting and bracing the lateral beams, a means in which are journaled certain of the operating ele,

ments presently to be described,

Journaled at its ends in each pair of transverse bars 9, 9 and preferably to one y side of the longitudinal axis of the frame 6, is a rotary shaft 11 having keyed or otherwise fixed thereon, a winding spool or drum 12, and intermediate said spool and the adjacent face of the bar 9 a ratchet wheel 14',

also fixed on the shaft 11.

Each shaft extends inwardly thru its supporting bar.9 and the extension 15 has keyed or otherwise fixed thereon a spur gear 16 which meshes with a relatively smaller spur gear 21 at each end of a'longitudinal rotary shaft 18 also journaled at its ends in the transverse bars 9 Arrangedtransversely of the frame intermediate the bars 9 and journaled at its ends in the parallelclateral beams 8, is a rotary drive or power shaft 19 formed at one end into a worm 20 which is in gear with a worm wheel 22 on and fixed for rotation with the longitudinal shaft 18. Adjacent its other end, the power shaft 19 has keyed thereon a sleeve 23 having a spur gear 24 which is in mesh with a relatively smaller pinion 25 on the shaft 26 of an electric motor 28 supported by a bracket 29 on the inner face of one of the lateral beams 8.

An extension 30 of the shaft- 19 which projects thru one of the beams 8, carries a ratchet wheel 32 which is rotated with a step-'by-step movement thru the medium of a manually operated lever 33 journaled on the extension of said shaft, a pawl 3e pivoted thereon co-operating with the teeth of said ratchet wheel.

The plat-form and its supporting and elevating and lowering mechanism is suspended by cables 36 from suitable means on the roof of the building or beams which extend laterally beyond the face of the wall thereof, said cables being wrapped around the winding drums or spools 12 and fastened at one end thereto.

For the purpose of locking the winding drums against rotation and thus preventing the platform to descend under its weight and that of the workmen and materials thereon,

I provide a rocking bar 38 secured by straps 39 to the inner face of one of the lateral beams and provided with arms 40 on the ends thereof and at right angles thereto. said arms terminating in pawls 42 which co-operate with the teeth of the ratchet wheels 14. The platform 4 is provided with apertures 44 thru which pass the elevating and lowering cables 36 and an aperture 46 thru which extends the handle of the operating lever 33, the latter being manually actuated to cause the drums to be rotated in a direction to wind the cables thereon. The rocking bar is operated by a handle &8 to release the pawls 42 from engagement with the ratchet wheels 14, and is accessible thru an opening 50 in the platform 4;. lVhenever it is desired to lower the platform, the locking pawls are disengaged from the ratchet wheels 14 and by gravity the platform will be caused to descend in a manner as is obvious from the construction shown. The winding cables will be caused to rotate in the reverse direction when the platform is lowered.

What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In an elevating and lowering mechanism for scaffolds, a frame comprising spaced parallel beams and transverse bars arranged in pairs therebe tween, winding drums ournaled between the palrs of trans- ,verse bars, a ratchet associated with the inner face of each winding drum, gear having connection with the shaft of each drunna longitudinal driven shaft supported between the inner pair of transverse bars. gear wheels carried I at the ends thereof meshing with the last mentioned gears, a

drive shaft disposed transversely of said spaced parallel beams and transverse barsarranged in pairs therebetween. winding drums journaled between the pairs of trans verse bars, a ratchet associated with the inner face of each winding drum, a gear having connection with the shaft of each drum. a longitudinal. driven shaft supported between the inner pair of transverse bars. gear wheels carried at the ends thereof meshing with the last mentioned gears, a drive shaft disposed transversely of said beams and having connection with said driven shaft, means for rotating said drive shaft, a rocking bar journaled on one of the beams of said frame and projecting through the inner pair of transverse bars, laterally disposed pawls carried at the ends of said rocking bar and adapted normally for engagement with the aforesaid ratchets on said drums to lock the latter against rotation inone direction. and alever carried onisaid rocking bar intermediate of its ends and adapted for manual actuation1 whereby to rock said bar and release the pawls from engagement with said ratchets. p

In testimony whereof I my signature.

ANISE F. FRAME. 

